Russian rouble eases as govt proposes capital controls extension

The rouble eased after hitting a one-week high against the dollar on Tuesday as the Russian government proposed extending capital controls that have buoyed the currency in recent months until the end of the year. By 1125 GMT, the rouble was 0.4% weaker against the dollar at 88.15, earlier hitting its strongest point since Jan. 16 of 87.5850.

The rouble eased after hitting a one-week high against the dollar on Tuesday as the Russian government proposed extending capital controls that have buoyed the currency in recent months until the end of the year.

By 1125 GMT, the rouble was 0.4% weaker against the dollar at 88.15, earlier hitting its strongest point since Jan. 16 of 87.5850. It had lost 0.1% to trade at 95.86 versus the euro and dipped 0.6% to 12.26 against the yuan .

The capital controls, ordered by President Vladimir Putin in an October decree, require exporters to convert foreign currency revenues into roubles. The rouble had traded past 100 to the dollar shortly before the decree was announced. The government proposed extending the controls until the end of the year from their current expiration in April.

Taking the proposed extension into account, the rouble should trade in the 90-95 range against the dollar by the end of the year, said Promsvyazbank analyst Stanislav Duzhinsky. The rouble is also being buttressed by state foreign currency sales and the prospect of month-end tax payments.

State FX sales, carried out by the central bank, are set to amount to the equivalent of 16.7 billion roubles ($190.5 million) of foreign currency a day until the end of January. The finance ministry switched to making sales from purchases after December oil-and-gas revenue was lower than expected. "The rouble is still continuing to receive support from huge FX interventions by the Bank of Russia and, traditionally for the start of the year, low demand for FX from importers, who need to sell off last year's stocks before making new purchases," said Alor Broker's Alexei Antonov in a note.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.9% at $79.35 a barrel. Russian stock indexes were lower.

The dollar-denominated RTS index was down 0.3% to 1,133.4 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index was marginally lower at 3,171.9 points. Shares in Russian technology company Yandex were 0.9% higher, outperforming the wider market, after Russian corporate filings revealed a change in the company's ownership structure, the next step on the firm's path to a restructuring that will see it spin off international businesses from its main Russian assets.